5-mile vehicle chain blocks streets of Rio in anti-Uber protest

Over a thousand taxi drivers blocked the streets of Rio de Janeiro on Friday demanding the prohibition of the Uber ride-sharing company. The taxi drivers parked their yellow cabs in the Aterro do Flamengo area of Rio, forming a chain stretching five kilometers (three miles), which blocked roads towards the north of the city where both airports are located. There are 33,000 licensed taxis in Rio de Janeiro with the Uber application having affected around 40 percent of their services. Earlier this month, lawmakers in Brasilia and Sao Paulo voted to ban the company after protests by local taxi drivers.